The majority of the conditions which you experience while using cTrader are influenced by your broker. Each broker will have different settings. We have written this section to help you to understand trading conditions further and what influences them.

Commissions

Commissions in cTrader are charged based on the volume of the deal. Your broker decides on whether to charge commissions, how much should be charge and how they should be charged (USD volume, Lots, Basis Points). Commissions which are charged in a currency different to your account currency will be converted into your account currency.

Fair Stop Out

The Fair Stop Out level of your account is decided by your broker. It is up to your broker to decide which setting % they want to use. Every broker uses the same Fair Stop Out algorithm to close positions by closing a position which uses the most margin, as opposed to the most unprofitable. This logic used by cTrader increases your chances of recovery by freeing up your margin to secure profits from the remaining positions.

Price and Spread

There are a huge number of variables contributing to the Price and the Spread. When trading in true market conditions the spread can become wider, or it can even become negative. Factors which do influence it are your brokers Liquidity Provider(s), your brokers settings, the time of day (trading session), news announcements and market sentiment to name a few. All of these things affect the prices which you are seeing.

Please Note: cTrader is a non-dealing desk platform. It is impossible for your broker to manipulate pricing, charts and history.

Slippage

cTrader fills orders using VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price), this means that depending on the volume of your order, it will not necessarily be filled using the top of book price which you see on the charts. Slippage is entirely possible when using Market Orders and is a genuine condition of trading in a true STP environment. Generally it is unavoidable and not something your broker can control, it is simply down to market conditions such as volatility when prices are rising or falling quickly. If you want to avoid slippage you can use Market Range Orders or Limit Orders.

Symbols

cTrader is a Multi-Asset-Class CFD trading platform which supports a huge variety of markets, falling under a number of different asset classes, including Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Forex, Exchange Traded Funds and more. If you want to trade symbols your broker isn’t offering, you should contact them directly and request via them. Adding new symbols is a decision which is made by your broker.

Swaps

Swap rates are applied by your broker. When you hold a position overnight your broker also incurs fees from their liquidity provider, the fees you are charged reflect the fees your broker is charged. We recommend you contact your broker for more information about their Swap rates.

Liquidity

Brokers can have different configurations of counterparties and this acts a variable between brokers, this affects many of the trading conditions listed above and others not mentioned such as market depth. Some brokers may have two or three liquidity providers connected to their cServer, some may have twenty plus, it all depends on their model. You broker will have more information about this on their website.

Latency

While cTrader does have the capacity for processing orders within milliseconds, however this doesn’t guarantee your orders will be filled within that time period. Your brokers Liquidity Provider can affect latency, mostly if the counterparty which is filling your order is located in New York, while your broker's cServer is located in London and you are located in Auckland for example.

Different brokers also have different configurations of proxies from Spotware’s global proxy cloud. Your broker can add as many as they wish from a selection of dozens of key locations throughout the world.

While the proxies provided by your broker help to improve latency and connection, the key factors affecting latency are your location and your internet speed.

Leverage

cTrader supports leverage of up to 1:1000 for all symbols and accounts. The amount of maximum leverage which your broker provides you is decided by them. It is likely that your broker will give you a variety of options, allowing you to use a lower rate of leverage if you want.

Different markets are typically offered with different rates of maximum leverage. We recommend that you check each the info-window of each market to know exactly what the maximum amount of leverage is offered with that market. Do not just assume every market is offered with the same rate as your account.

Trading Sessions

Trading sessions can vary between brokers. This could be due to where they are located, any local public holidays or their Liquidity Providers trading hours. Differences could be when they start or finish their trading week or trading day and gaps between sessions. If you want to see the trading hours of a symbols you can open the info-window to see when trading is available for each symbol.